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Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Clusters

Phonological evaluation of English words requires separating actual spoken sounds from printed letters. Which of the following words features a final consonant cluster composed of exactly three distinct consonant phonemes?

  1. fifthsAnswer
  2. B
    crumbs
  3. C
    glimpsed
  4. D
    knights

Answer

fifths
The word 'fifths' is phonetically transcribed as /fɪfθs/. Its final sound sequence /f-θ-s/ consists of three consecutive consonant phonemes, satisfying the structural requirement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Transcribe each candidate word into its spoken phonetic form to isolate actual consonant sounds from silent letters.
fifths = /fɪfθs/, crumbs = /krʌmz/, glimpsed = /ɡlɪmpst/, knights = /naɪts/.
Consonant clusters are defined by spoken phonemes, not orthographic letter counts.
2
Count the consecutive consonant phonemes occurring at the end of each word.
fifths ends in /f-θ-s/ (3 phonemes); crumbs ends in /m-z/ (2 phonemes); glimpsed ends in /m-p-s-t/ (4 phonemes); knights ends in /t-s/ (2 phonemes).
The question specifies identifying a final cluster of exactly three consonant phonemes.

Key Concept

Identifying final consonant clusters via spoken phonetic transcription
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Consonant Clusters

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